Under the Shadow of Your Wings (Psalm 36:7)

“For You have been my help.  I will rejoice in the shadow of your wings.” Psalm 63:7

“Keep me as the apple of your eye; Hide me under the shadow of your wings.” Psalm 17:8

“I will dwell in Your tent forever.  I will take refuge in the shelter of your wings.”  Psalm 61:4

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Before David reigned as King of Israel, he had experienced God’s protection over and over again.  Saul was seeking him everyday but God did not deliver David into his hand.  Jonathan even came to him in the woods “to strengthen his hand in God” , but afterwards members of his own tribe revealed David’s stronghold  to Saul.  At one point “…Saul went on one side of the mountain, and David was on the other side of the mountain.  So David made haste to get away from Saul, for Saul and his men were encircling David and his men to take them.  But a messenger came to Saul, saying ‘Hurry and come, for the Philistines have invaded the land!’ Therefore Saul returned from pursuing David…” ( 1 Samuel 23: 14-29) Truly he had been taking refuge “under the shelter of His wings.”

Part of teaching the Bible to kids is going over proper methods of interpretation such as (1) knowing what  life was like in the culture and times the passage was written, (2)  that they can not take a verse out of context ,(3)  and that they must know the meaning of the words used.  (4) The interpretation of a specific passage must not contradict the total teaching of scripture on a specific point….in other words – scripture interprets scripture, (5)  and they must know the correct “genre” of the passage whether history, parable, prophecy or poetry.   When going over verses like the one above from Psalms, be sure and explain to kids that David was using  poetry  to describe God’s care and protection .  God does not really have wings !

worksheet

If you would like to try this project, you will need color tissue paper and scissors, thinned white glue and brushes. I added a real feather to the back…just cover up where it is attached with some “tissue” feathers.  Choose any verse from above and have the kids write this first.  Have fun cutting the tissue paper and layering the colors to look like feathers. They can glue right on top of  the worksheet like a collage.  You can’t goof-up a colored-tissue project!

God’s Holy Convocations – part two

We discussed the spring feasts in May (God’s Holy Convocations – part one), so let’s finish with the final 3 feasts which occur in the fall.  We have determined that the feasts are commemorative as well as prophetical, with the spring feasts having already been fulfilled by the life, death and resurrection of Jesus and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.  After a four month gap while the people waited for the harvest;  the Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah) which commenced the first day of the seventh month, (Tishri) was celebrated  by a Sabbath rest, a memorial  of blowing of trumpets and a holy convocation involving an offering made by fire as a sweet aroma to the LORD (Numbers 29:1-6)  As this was a gathering of the people with the use of trumpets, many scholars of prophecy believe that Jesus will come for His church during a future  Feast of  Trumpets.  Are  we watching and praying always so that Day does not come on us unexpectedly?  Not growing weary as we participate in the great harvest of souls? These are truly “Days of Awe” when we should be preparing ourselves and our kids “to stand before the Son of Man.” Luke 21:36

The “day above all days” took place nine days later, the high holy Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur).  The people were to fast and afflict their souls from evening to evening, and the high priest was to offer the blood of a bull to make atonement for his sins, and the blood of a goat for the people’s sins .  The blood was sprinkled on the mercy seat located on top of the ark in the Most Holy Place, but first the high priest had to make sure this holy space  was  covered with a cloud of incense, lest he die. (Leviticus 16 has the specific instructions as much more is detailed)   Zechariah 12:10 speaks of the fulfillment of this feast when, at the Second Coming of the Lord…”I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; and they will look on me whom they pierced, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.  In that day there shall be mourning at Hadad Rimmom  in the plain of Megiddo ( the same intensity as when King Josiah died).  In that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and uncleanness…”

The last verses in Zechariah speak of the aftermath of that great battle in which Jesus comes against all of the  people and nations that have  gathered together to come against the remnant  of  “the apple of His eye”…“their eyes shall dissolve in their sockets ( and other yucky stuff) and like the battles of old , “a great panic from the LORD will be among them.  Everyone will seize the hand of his neighbor and the hand of the one shall be raised against the hand of the other.”  Any who are left alive shall go up year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles.  This last feast (also called the Feast of Ingathering or Sukkoth) was the joyful, week-long celebration of thanksgiving for their bountiful harvest.  The men were all to come to the temple in Jerusalem  to make booths out of tree branches and “camp-out” to commemorate the LORD bringing them out of the land of Egypt, through the wilderness and finally to the promised land.  Besides the regular offerings specified for each day of the feast,  vows and freewill offerings were presented.  In the 1,000 year millennial  kingdom, the people of Judah and Jerusalem will fulfill their destiny as a holy, priestly nation and the rejoicing and thanksgiving will continue in an annual Feast of Tabernacles.

coloring page

Man of the Tombs – alternate worksheet

Man of the Tombs – worksheet

Because I am so inspired by the compassion of  our Savior  in this story,  I decided to make a less complicated, alternate project . Color the page  and write an appropriate verse.  Again, I used the thick foil seal from a nut can to make the “fetters” but regular foil is o.k. too.  Cut three, shape a slight curve  over a pencil before gluing these on where indicated with a thick blop of tacky glue. You will also need one of those small novelty chains… (the kind that a rabbit’s foot is attached to)  This chain can also be purchased by the spool… Look for “ball chain”. Poke a tiny hole with a pencil by the man’s leg to insert the end of the chain.  Now make another tiny hole to inset the  other end of the chain in. Tape the ends on the back. (Don’t forget to check out the video mentioned in yesterday’s post)

Man of the Tombs…Let Your Light Shine

For this lesson I combined a passage from the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5: 14-16)  “let your light shine before men” so the Father in heaven is glorified, with a practical application  from  the story of the man of the tombs in Mark 5: 1-20. I can highly recommend the You-tube music video entitled “Man of the Tombs”  by Bob Bennett uploaded by SC Watchman (5:47 minutes) to help you prepare for this lesson.

This story is also told in Luke 8: 26- 38 and Matthew( who would have been an eyewitness) 9: 18-2, and Matthew’s version mentions  two men.  All of the commentaries I have read say that only one man was possessed by the “Legion”  of demons, so that is why only one man is mentioned in Mark and Luke .  This fierce man had been driven from society and lived  in hopeless self-destuction and despair until he met  the Master.  Note that the demons were not confused as to who Jesus was and cried out through the man “You Son of the Most High God” .  Sensing their fate, they begged to be cast into a nearby herd of swine and not  into the Abyss. Jesus permitted this.  Leaving the man,  they rushed into the pigs and then  drowned  themselves in the Sea of Galilee, showing all who would  later read this account the destructive nature of evil.  The Gadarenes asked Jesus to depart, being “seized with great fear.” (and perhaps a little miffed at their financial loss, but that is speculation.)  The man begged to able to go with Jesus when he got ready to depart but the answer to this worthy prayer was “no”… “Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, ‘Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He has had compassion on you.’ And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis ” the great things Jesus had done for him: and all men marveled  as he let his light shine.  Aren’t you thankful that His “compassions fail not ” (Lamentations 3:22) and He is still seeking and saving those who are lost?  (Luke 19:10)

The background for this project is a home-made basket similar to Moses’ basket from an earlier post.  Two full sheets of paper  are needed, one page is cut into strips and the other one needs to be cut with an x-acto blade as shown in photo #1. (You will need to cut these ahead of time and if you have access to a paper cutter, you can cut the strips swiftly… approx. 1/2 wide ). Weave your strips and glue your ends, trimming any pieces that hang over. Crease sides as shown in #2 , then un-crease and write your verses on the front and back .  The sides will be stapled so it will be easier to write the verses with the woven part lying flat. If you have younger kids I have added a pdf file below(*)  with the verses printed that can just be cut out and glued on the baskets. Card stock is recommended  in one or two colors but not necessary. If your kids are older, you can also weave a basket out of strips of  brown grocery bags.  The strips are folded so no raw edges show and this also hides any writing.  One large grocery bag makes 12- 1  inch strips which are 19 inches long , or 6 longer strips.  Figure out which size basket you want to determine how many strips you will need and their length. Verses can be written with a black felt pen and shortened…see  sample of finished basket.  The verse on the back was shortened to say,” …Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket…”(Matthew 5:15) To finish off the basket,  make a “rim” by cutting  one long strip  at least 3 inches wide.  Fold this strip in half and then fold up  both edges 1/2  inch.  Center along the top of your basket, glue the front, fold over and then glue the back. ( I hope the picture help!)

side view

Another purpose of this strip is to add structure and  support  to the sides and hide the staples. These  baskets can also be painted ( I have used a white, water-based house paint for a nice antique effect) and are really quite sturdy! There are other  weaving methods available on the internet so use what works for you.  Be sure you make up one first so you can work out the kinks!   My kids asked me which direction to write the verses.  I think that depends on if they are going to use the baskets in a functional way…or just as a background for the verse.

#1 – weaving the cardstock

weaving basket of brown grocery bags

#3 – staple sides

#2 – crease side

Let your light shine *

weaving – verses Mark 5: 19*

God the Father

God dwells in unapproachable light

“FOR I AM THE LORD, I CHANGE NOT.” MALACHI 3:6

“CAN YOU DISCOVER THE DEPTHS OF GOD?  CAN YOU DISCOVER THE LIMITS OF THE ALMIGHTY?”  JOB 11:7

“WHO DOES GREAT AND UNSEARCHABLE THINGS, WONDERS WITHOUT NUMBER.”  JOB 5:9

If we would have a strong faith, we must have a proper and true concept of our God. We can be eternally thankful that our LORD has blessed us with “glimpses” of Himself through His Word .  Our Omnipotent God inspired holy men to record these words , and as a result of  careful copying, compilation  and preservation through the ages, we have access to the Holy Bible today.   Psalm 146: 6  states that the LORD ”  keeps truth forever” so we can be reassured He has preserved the integrity  of the Scriptures.  This is the only authority that Born-Again Christians worldwide accept as truth.  No man-made doctrines or traditions are to be revered over the Bible or thought equal to the Bible.  There is a severe judgement proclaimed to anyone who would add or take away from His revelation of  truth…”I will worship toward your holy temple, and praise Your name for your lovingkindness and Your truth: for You have magnified Your word above all Your name.” Psalm 138:2

His power and love is so evident in the stories we share, but there are other important attributes we can discover.  Deuteronomy 32, containing “The Song of Moses”, is a wonderful chapter proclaiming  “… the name of the LORD.  Ascribe greatness to our God. He is the Rock, (solid, unchangeable)  His work is perfect; for all His ways are justice, A God of truth and without injustice; Righteous and upright is He.”( verses3-4) The next portion relates his  fatherly care of His treasure, Israel…how He found them, encircled and instructed them, and kept them as the apple of His eye.  Next we read of the provocation…when God hid His face from His sons and His daughters because they had provoked Him by their foolish idols…”For the LORD will judge His people “(vs 36) “…there is no God besides Me…nor is there any who can deliver from My hand”. (vs 39)  “I will render vengeance to My enemies, and repay those who hate Me.” (vs41)” ‘Rejoice, O Gentiles , with His people…He will provide atonement for His land and His people’.” (vs 43)

In Psalm 139, we read about the qualities that describe how God relates to David. “O LORD, you have searched me and known me, You know my sitting down and my rising up.  You understand my thoughts… you are acquainted with all my ways.  There is not a word on my tongue , but behold, O LORD, you know it altogether.  You have hedged me behind and before, and laid your hand on me.  Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it…”  David also goes on to write that the LORD formed him, ordained all his days and there was no place he could go to flee from His presence.

Notice that David admits he can not fathom the ways God relates to him…that is O.K… We will spend eternity learning about Him…”…that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:7)  “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!” Romans 11:33      We only see evidence of His power… it’s totality and greatness remain hidden which is what is pointed out to us in Habakkuk 3″…His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full of His praise.  His brightness was like the light; He had rays flashing from His hand, and there His power was hidden…” we also read in Job a similar thought…

“He spreads out the northern skies over empty space.  He suspends the earth over nothing…and these are but the outer fringe of His works; how faint the whisper we hear of Him! Who then can understand the the thunder of His power?”  Job 26: 7& 14

We cannot end our study of God without mentioning Jesus Christ…”For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” (Colossians 2:9)  “He is the image of the invisible God,” (Colossians 1:15) sharing the  name and nature of His Father …” God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in times past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son,  whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high…” (Hebrews 1: 1-3)  Some people will tell you that Jesus never claimed to be God , but they are very mistaken, for we read in Revelation 1: 7-8 “Behold, He is coming with clouds and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him.  And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen. ‘I am the Alpha  and the Omega, the Beginning and the End’, says the Lord (Jesus Christ), ‘who is and was and who is to come, the Almighty’… the First and the Last”(Revelation 1:11) If you check out Isaiah 41:4 and 44:6 , you will see that God also refers to Himself as the First and the Last !  Not only do we see the Godhead interacting with each other in Genesis 1: 26 ” Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in Our image , according to Our likeness’…” but also in Psalm 2 : “…The kings of the earth set themselves…against the LORD and against His Anointed…He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The LORD shall hold them in derision.  Then He shall speak to them in His wrath…’Yet I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion.’  ‘I will declare the decree:  The LORD has said to Me, You are My Son, ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance…’ Now therefore, be wise, O kings; (you too, gentle readers) Be instructed, you judges of the earth.  Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.  Kiss the Son, lest he be angry. and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little.  Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.”

There is no worksheet for this lesson.  I just used bright crayons , glitter with slashes of “wite-out”.  Write out 1 Timothy 6:16.  Be sure and ask a lot of questions so you can make sure your kids have a truthful and solid understanding of their Creator.

Leah – A Mother of Israel

The wedding veil is an ancient symbol of modesty. The first we read of a veil in the Bible was when Rebekah covered herself with a veil before she was introduced to her future husband ,Isaac, in Gen. 24.   Commentators speculate that it was also used to play a trick on Jacob during his marriage to who he thought was his beloved Rachel.( Remember when he played a trick on his “dim-eyed” father , pretending to be Esau?)  Leah’s identity was not  ascertained until the morning.  A belligerent groom  was quick to confront his father-in-law and  Rachel was promised  to Jacob after Leah’s bridal week was fulfilled at the cost of seven more years of labor.  The Lord blessed Leah with six sons and we see a progression of her faith with the naming of these boys: Reuben[See, a son!]; “because the Lord has seen my humiliation; now my husband will love me.” Simeon [God hears];”because the Lord heard that I am despised”. Levi [companion]; “now this time my husband will be a companion to me”. Judah [praise]; “now I will praise the Lord”. Issachar [hired]; “God has given me my hire.  And Leah became pregnant again and bore Jacob her sixth son.  Then Leah said, ‘God has endowed me with a good marriage gift; now he will dwell with me because I have borne him six sons’; and she named him Zebulun[dwelling].”   Faithful Leah was buried  by Jacob in the cave  of Machpelah  along with Abraham, Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah … a space reserved beside her when he too would “be gathered to his people”.

While we do not go around in long veils today, modesty is still required by women of God. If the LORD has commanded men to “treat older women as mothers and younger women as sisters, in all purity”, (1 Timothy 5:2) we should make every effort to not put temptation before their eyes.  Let’s teach modesty by word and example to the girls in our sphere of influence.  You might consider a special evening class or “sleep-over” to really go into depth with this vital teaching.

The worksheet  includes Leah’s wedding dress, one “modest” outfit, and one inappropriate outfit for you to discuss…(if you have boys in your class..please cut off the bottom two outfits and only give them the top portion.)  Color Leah and cut  a rectangle …from the edge 3 3/4 inches and 8 1/4 inch tall…leaving a space to write the verse from 1 Timothy. Cut out the space for Leah’s eyes to show through.  If you choose to,  you may cut more of the veil off  to show more of her face.

Leah with face showing

Color dress and cut out.  Save the heavy duty foil seals that come on coffee cans or nuts, and cut them with a hole-punch …glue above eyes after gluing the veil which is cheese cloth or other gauzey material.  Have the girls toss the  immodest outfit in the trash to further illustrate your lesson.

Leah – modesty w/text

The worksheet and instruction for Korah’s Rebellion is now posted.

King Jehoshaphat Prepares his Heart

“…Whoever wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” James 4:4

Jehoshaphat inherited the throne of Judah after the death of his father Asa.  We read that the LORD was with Jehoshaphat because he walked in the ways of David, obediently…until he made the bad decision to ally himself with the wickedest king Israel had known –  Ahab. Not only did he allow his son to marry Jezabel’s daughter, but Ahab talked the good king of Judah into entering a battle with him, one in which only one king would return home alive!  On his way home to Jerusalem, Jehoshaphat was met by the son of the seer who had rebuked his father and was given this stern reproof…”Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the LORD?”( 2 Chronicles 19:2)  Thankfully we read a different outcome as a result of the confrontation…Jehoshaphat prepared his heart to seek God.  He went out among the people from Beersheba to the mountains of Ephraim and brought them back to the LORD God of their fathers. He set judges throughout the land and commanded them to act in the fear of the LORD, faithfully and with loyal hearts.  When a large army came to battle against him, he set himself to seek the LORD and proclaimed a fast .  Read the prayer that was lifted up in 2 Chronicles 20: 6-12.  God delivered  Judah in an amazing way after the people had begun to steadfastly believe the Word of the LORD, and lift up His name in praise.  There are so many good points to bring out in this story that you may want to take extra time teaching it… the worksheet for this lesson is  a coloring page that can be divided into two parts.  The typos in the sample above,  have been corrected in the worksheet below!

King Jehoshaphat – coloring page